Sarnia's Got Big News In Biochemicals

BioAmber plant on Vidal St. Zach Neal photo.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

The arrival of bio-based succinic acid in the marketplace is creating new markets for the building-block chemical BioAmber manufactures in Sarnia.

BioAmber vice-president Anne Waddell spoke about the potential for bio-succinic acid, a chemical the Montreal-based company makes from corn syrup, during a presentation Wednesday at the Sarnia-Lambton Bio-Industrial Symposium.

The company formed less than a decade ago and began making bio-succinic acid, a chemical traditionally made from oil, at a pilot plant in France, using technology that originated in the 1990s with the U.S. Department of Energy.

In 2015, BioAmber opened a $141-million plant in Sarnia and is considering building a second larger $500-million production site in Sarnia or Louisiana.

Link to the rest here.

Also from Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

Another bio-chemical company is planning to set up shop in Sarnia-Lambton.

Sarnia-based Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, a government-funded not-for-profit agency, said Wednesday it has made an investment in Origin Materials, a company in Sacramento that is expected to build its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia by late 2018.

“This is really big news,” said Sandy Marshall, executive director of Bioindustrial Innovation Canada.

“These guys are producing a platform chemical with a similar sort of priority and impact as what BioAmber had.”

Link to the rest here.

Thank you for reading.

 

City of Sarnia Streamlines Process, Developers Ready to Roll.

From Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer.

Builders and planners in Sarnia are eager to roll on some big projects, and the city has moved to get out of their way, just a step.

City council this week passed a resolution that simplifies the process somewhat for proponents seeking official plan amendments, like rezoning.

Would-be developers still have to do their homework, go through a public consultation process and pitch their cases to council, but now they don’t need council’s permission to go through that process, said Alan Shaw, Sarnia’s director of planning, building and bylaw enforcement.

“It’s more efficient for the staff and it’s more time efficient for developers,” he said.

The city had been under a two-year official-plan-amendment freeze since its latest plan came into effect last July 15.

Ontario’s Smart Growth for Our Communities Act puts the freeze in effect so municipalities don’t have to worry about amendment pressures while implementing a new plan, Shaw said.

Link to the rest here.

Thank you for reading.